Wow, what an episode. I thought there might be a bit of a come down after the incredible high of Ep. 6, but I was proved wrong. My main hope was to see Asami properly involved, and that happened. I'm a lot more positive about her than most here, it seems (though it still lowers my opinion of Mako that he prefers her to Korra!). It was an interesting way to play it - that she was ignorant of her father's pursuits, and chooses to join the benders when confronted with the reality (would she have done so, but for the threat to Mako?). Korra saying "she needs you..." to Mako before glancing across at him, as if to say, "but I want you" was a great note to end on. I'm sure there's more to come from that romance triangle, and I much prefer when those issues rise up only occasionally, rather than dominating a whole episode.
The main thrust of this episode, though, was reinforcing Amon's strength. He has access to powerful golems, which can pose a huge danger even to skilled benders, and to a substance which they can't use (platinum). He's manipulated events to allow Tarlokk, either an accomplice or an ambitious fool, to undermine Bei Fong, who's now gone rogue. I think Republic City might even fall before the end of the series now.
Other points:
- When Sato & co. captured Tenzin & co., I dared to hope for a moment that we might get to see Bolin and Mako going on a mission to rescue them. Alas, it was not to be.
- Tenzin can fight! Not a patch on his dad, though.
- I fear that Bei Fong might be the first big character to lose her bending now. She's inevitably going to attack Amon to free her troops...
- I enjoyed the structure of the episode, moving from the lighthearted start, through a seemingly promising investigation, to a confrontation that developed Asami.
- Sato should really have told Asami earlier - he could easily have got her on side as a child. But once she'd starting building friendly relationships with benders, there was always the possibility of losing her.
- Speaking of Asami, props to her for doing exactly what came into my mind - "take the glove, and then electrocute him."
New episode ranking:
1. And the Winner Is... (I think this will be #1 for a good while)
2. The Aftermath
3. The Revelation
4. Welcome to Republic City
5. A Leaf in the Wind
6. The Voice in the Night
7. The Spirit of Competition (I enjoyed this ep. a lot even though it's last.)
I've been rewatching S3 of Aang's story, and I have to say, the quality of Korra is substantially higher on average. Not just the animation, but the intensity of events and the writing. I'm not as connected to the non-Korra characters here though, but it's still early. I think it's easier to feel a kinship with the characters in TLA because they were journeying on their own, so we saw everything from a collective point of view, whereas here we're viewing largely through Korra.
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We are living our lives
Abound with so much information